THE Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) has postponed the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) 5th World Ecotourism Conference, originally scheduled to take place in Cebu and Bohol between November 13 and 15, to 1Q2014.

News of the postponement followed just days after tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr said Cebu would “push through” with it (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 21,2013).

Said tourism undersecretary Daniel G Corpuz in a press statement: “In view of the recent events, the Philippine DoT and (UNWTO affiliate) DiscoverMice are postponing the 5th World Ecotourism Conference (to) the first quarter of 2014 in Cebu and Bohol. All of those who have registered online are advised to reconfirm their interest to attend once the online registration is reactivated with the new schedule.

“We look forward to everyone’s kind cooperation and support as we work for the swift recovery of Cebu and Bohol tourism infrastructure.”

Lyle Lewis, general manager of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu (where the event was to take place) and vice president – Philippines and Japan, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said: “Our building has been certified as structurally sound and sustained minor cosmetic damage (in the earthquake). Our hotel is fully operational and we will always put the safety and wellbeing of our guests and employees as our top priority.

“The decision to postpone the conference is made by the organiser and we respect the organiser’s decision.”

PAN Pacific Hotels Group has entered a joint venture agreement with Myanmar’s Shwe Taung Group to develop the country’s first Pan Pacific hotel.

Subject to regulatory approvals from the Myanmar government, Pan Pacific Yangon will open in 2016 as part of a mixed-use development comprising serviced apartments, retail and office spaces.

The hotel will be situated along Shwedagon Pagoda Road and Bogyoke Aung San Road in central Yangon, opposite Bogyoke Augn San Market.

Offering 348 rooms, the new property will also include facilities such as meeting rooms, a ballroom, swimming pool, spa, gym, all-day dining restaurant and specialty restaurant.

Pan Pacific Yangon will be the Group’s second property in Yangon after Parkroyal Yangon, which it owns and has operated for the last 12 years. Parkroyal Yangon is slated to undergo extensive renovations of its public spaces, restaurants and ballrooms.

Gwee Lian Kheng, group chief executive, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: “Pan Pacific Yangon underscores the Group’s steadfast confidence in and commitment to Myanmar as an important growth market. By responding to the increasing demand for quality hotel rooms and service through our distinctive Pan Pacific and Parkroyal brands of hospitality, we look forward to contributing further to Myanmar’s flourishing tourism industry.”

The Group is currently exploring opportunities in Naypyidaw, and this year also signed management agreements for Parkroyal resorts in Bogor and Bali. To open in 2015 and 2016 respectively, the new resorts will mark Parkroyal’s debut in Indonesia.

BEST Western International has launched the new Best Western Premier Havana Nha Trang hotel on the coast of Vietnam, months after introducing a mid-range property in the same destination.

Located on Tran Phu Street, the hotel offers 200 upscale rooms and suites with sweeping views of Nha Trang Bay. Each room is equipped with amenities such as LCD TVs with satellite channels, free Wi-Fi and rain showers.

Guests can also enjoy Vietnamese and international cuisines at the hotel’s restaurant or the outdoor infinity pool overlooking the sea.

For corporate guests, there is 1,500m² of conference and banqueting space for events.

Best Western earlier this year launched the Best Western Sea & Sun Nha Trang (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013).

ULTRA-luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises has served up 15 short voyage itineraries for 2014 that will allow partners to book out the ship.

Running from May to December 2014, these itineraries will last three to four nights and are available across different ships including the 147-suite Silver Cloud, 194-suite Silver Whisper and 270-suite Silver Spirit.

On offer are four-day roundtrip sailings from Rome, three-day Venice voyages and four-day journeys from Athens, among others.

MALAYSIA’S travel trade is divided on the likely impact of the recent Bertam Valley mud flood on visitorship to Cameron Highlands in the coming weeks.

Operators of the hydro-electric Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet Cameron Highlands had opened a gate to release water in order to prevent the dam from bursting after continuous rain from the day before, but instead caused a mud flood that has since claimed three lives.

The incident also coincides with the rainy season, traditionally a period of low arrivals to the area.

Casa Dela Rosa Hotel Cameron Highlands’ operation manager, Benjamin Jayaraya, said there have been cancellations since the mud flood on October 23, and room occupancy has dipped below 40 per cent, a historic low as weekends usually see occupancies hovering in the 80s to 90s range.

“It is too early to predict how bookings will be for the year-end school holidays. It is still not strong. Occupancies next week for the Deepavali and Awal Muharram public holidays may indicate how it goes for the year-end period. The current rainy season might be discouragement to some travellers.”

Local and foreign travellers alike might be cautious of the recurrence of a similar tragedy in the rainy season, said Andy Muniandy, director of sales and business development at Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel.

He expects a 10 per cent drop in FIT and local groups to Cameron Highlands for the year-end.

But others TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to are more optimistic. Ganneesh Ramaa, manager of Luxury Tours Malaysia, said it is “business as usual” as the main tourist attractions are near or within Tanah Rata and Brinchang towns, which are not near the scene of the flood.

Leonard Francis, resort manager at Cameron Highlands Resort, said his property is a distance from the affected area and occupancies have not been affected.

He said the resort was running at almost full occupancy last week and bookings for the upcoming public holidays high, while reservations for the year-end are “looking good”.

GERMAN tourism authorities are targeting outbound tourists from Thailand, having identified the country as a key Asian growth market given the its rapidly growing middle class.

German National Tourism Bureau, Deutsche Bahn, Magic Cities Germany and visitBerlin yesterday held a joint event in Bangkok, their first-ever post-ITB Asia satellite event, to strengthen connections with the local trade and tap growing Thai demand.

“We are always interested in nations that are developing very fast and have an emerging middle class,” said visitBerlin CEO, Burkhard Kieker. “This is happening all over Asia, especially in Thailand where people are very hungry for travel.

“We were surprised to discover Thais were the second highest spending tourists in Berlin (with an average spend of 546 euros or US$752) after China in (1H2013) according to Global Blue.”

Asian travellers took 89.4 million trips last year, including 2.1 million to Germany, according to IPK International’s World Travel Monitor. China was the largest Asian source market with 818,000 trips. While Thai arrivals to the country were almost 15 times smaller than this, the kingdom exhibits some of the best growth potential from within the region, said GNTB’s Michael Steuer.

“Thais made 55,000 trips to Germany last year, while this is still small compared with China and Japan, it’s a high-growth source market and we’re targeting 100,000 visits (annually) by 2020,” he said.

Germany was the second favourite European travel destination after Switzerland for Thais last year, and Thais contributed more than one-third of visits to Germany from South-east Asia.

SINGAPORE-based Far East Organization has entered a contract to purchase two properties in Australia, including a mixed-use development featuring the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks.

Far East will shell out A$72 million (US$68.4 million) for the Clocktower Square in Sydney, a mixed-use complex comprising a shopping centre, a six-storey commercial office tower and the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks, according to Singapore business daily, The Business Times. The development is situated within Sydney’s central business district.

Formerly known as Rendezvous Stafford Hotel, the 61-room hotel is the latest addition to Far East’s growing collection of Rendezvous brand hotels.

Far East Hospitality Holdings, a joint venture company between Far East Orchard and the Straits Trading Company (STC), already holds the management rights to Rendezvous Grand Hotel Melbourne, Rendezvous Hotel Perth, Rendezvous Studio Hotel Perth Central, and 13 others under Rendezvous Hotels International (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 16, 2013).

In August, STC sold Rendezvous Hotel Singapore to Far East Hospitality Trust, which is to be rebranded to Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore.

Far East will also purchase Harbour Town Centre, a freehold outlet shopping centre, for A$205 million, said The Business Times.